Ball of Nothing

Zero was half-worried and half anxious about the princess' decision. While he had high faith that the princess would come to find him, the doctor still couldn't focus on the task at hand. Thankfully, most of the patients looking for a doctor suffered from the usual things. Zero didn't have to focus fully and called a Parallel Mind to take over while he brooded alone in his mindscape.

Truen seemed to be doing well and got along easily with the dwarven guards. The elf learnt that dwarves were a lot stronger and faster than they looked. The wood elf had confidence in his ability to fight but when he arm-wrestled with the guard commander, Truen was completely defeated.

Dwarves didn't have a lot of mana and were born with naturally stocky looks and great strength. It was also the reason why so many dwarves made good miners and blacksmiths. Even the dwarve drafters had a unique style to the things they crafted. Their pottery were heavier and more durable even though the fine carving techniques paled in comparison to the elven crafters.

"Shoo!" Mii huffed and chased Zero out of the library. The mindscape sisters were busy spring cleaning the library and Zero was being a nuisance.

"Don't you have better things to do?" The strawcherry fairy asked, annoyed with Zero's gloominess.

Wii was also curious. Didn't Zero just start his adventure? It was a little too fast for Zero to be stuck in the middle of his adventure. Then again, the eggplant fairy understood why Zero was gloomy. He probably missed Truen. Parting with his best friend after a few months together on their adventure that they were looking forward to for two years would make Zero gloomy.

"Sis, let's not disturb master. He probably misses Truen."

Instead of feeling sympathy, Mii clicked her tongue in annoyance. Thankfully, after Wii's comment, the strawcherry fairy let Zero be and didn't shoo him out of the library anymore.

Zero was bored. Yet, he couldn't focus. He read many books about how to deal with different kinds of people under a study called psychology but no counselling can make Zero feel any better. If the princess didn't like him, the kingdom would be out to get his plate served on a platter to the enraged king. He didn't really think about consequences when he told the princes she would get uglier but could he be blamed for that? No! It's all Truen's fault for telling him that any method was deployable as long as it gave results.

Zero groaned and rolled around on the floor. It has been two days since he stormed out of the princess' quarters but there was no news about the princess. Princess Dorothy did not call for him or look for him. Zero started spending all his time in the temporary clinic simply because he didn't want to put up with the judging stares of the servants and guards in the palace. Almost everyone must have heard by now what a horrible person he was.

Unknown to Zero, he couldn't be more wrong. Nobody knew what he said to the princes but everyone in the palace had started labelling Zero as an oddball ever since the patrol guards caught him sitting in a tree and talking to himself. Truen wasn't here to clarify the rumours to protect Zero's reputation because he was away for a more important errand. Hence, the rumours of the odd healer called Zero travelled throughout the kingdom.

It only became worse when a travelling merchant who came from Magnus Hilda added fuel to the fire. He said that Zero was the healer who could hear the voice of wandering gods and cured the giants of the plague by listening to Goddess Freya. Now, even the chancellor was convinced that Zero could cure the princess of her dieting illness and obsession with the Fae King. King Darius was also convinced that Zero would be able to transform his pitiful daughter into the greatest dwarven beauty.

With all the expectations and hopes piled on Zero, it was only natural that everyone stared at him when they saw him. Even patients fell to their knees out of gratitude when they left the clinic. Those who suffered malnutrition were recommended to go to the royal kitchen for food and those who had more severe symptoms walked out of Zero's clinic fully cured. Zero was more busy writing bills to the royal family than he was curing patients.

About lunch time, Zero received a guest from the palace. Curious about who it was, the doctor changed places with his parallel mind and exited the mindscape library, much to Mii's relief.

The mysterious royal guest waited for Zero with a huge hooded cloak. Zero sat down and offered the guest some herbal tea but the guest refused. Instead, she removed her hood and stared at Zero resolutely.

"Princess? What are you doing here?"

The princess had tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry that I took so long to respond to you. I had a lot of thinking to do. First of all, I would like to thank you for telling me what I have always refused to believe. Indeed, Fae King Vivian's ideal lover has always been Queen Rihanna. Even if I were born a fae, there would be no way I could compete with her. Even though she has passed away, there is no way I can compare with Queen Rihanna in King Vivian's eyes."

Zero nodded. Accepting the truth was always a good start. Now that Princess Dorothy's eyes were clear, he needed to know if she was still keen on pursuing this fruitless love.

"Secondly, I want to apologise for being ignorant about the suffering of the citizens in the capital. My father has always been a fool and I, no better. If I'd known that the citizens were forced to suffer alongside me, I would have ceased my silly attempts at pursuing an unhealthy standard of beauty. After walking around the city for a bit, I finally understand why you said that dieting would only make me uglier. The citizens are only skin and bones, there is no beauty in being unhealthy and one step away from death."

Satisfied with the princess' answer and apology, Zero smiled kindly and pushed the cup of herbal tea in her direction, waiting for her to drink. It was just a normal calming tea and Zero wanted to make full use of his Tea Lover title's ability to increase fondness and friendship between him and the princess.

"I'm glad that you are very wise and can see where you have erred. I'll be honest with you, I do not know if you can succeed in winning King Vivian's heart. I'm not a god who can re-tie the red string of fate and make two people fall uncontrollably in love with each other. However, as a healer I have some tricks up my sleeve to make you into a great beauty. The choice is up to you but the path to be a great beauty isn't any easier than what you have been doing. If anything, it will be harder," Zero warned.

With a fire in her eyes, Princess Dorothy nodded. "I have worked so hard to learn that it was wrong. Now, I'm willing to work even harder not to just look better but to be better as a person. I will confess to King Vivian again when I become a better version of my current self regardless of his response to my confession. Esteemed healer, please teach me the way to become the greatest beauty so that I can make me and my country proud!"

Zero grinned widely. All his previous feelings of anxiety were gone and he gladly accepted Princess Dorothy's resolve.

"Lessons start at nine tomorrow, do not be tardy!"

"Yes ma'am!"